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bot·tle (bŏtl)
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n.
1. A receptacle having a narrow neck, usually no handles, and a mouth that can be plugged, corked, or capped.
2. The quantity that a bottle holds.
3. A receptacle filled with milk or formula that is fed, as to babies, in place of breast milk.
4. Informal
a. Intoxicating liquor: Don't take to the bottle.
b. The practice of drinking large quantities of intoxicating liquor: Her problem is the bottle.
tr.v. bot·tled, bot·tling, bot·tles
1. To place in a bottle.
2. To hold in; restrain: bottled up my emotions.
[Middle English botel, from Old French botele, from Medieval Latin butticula, diminutive of Late Latin buttis, cask, probably from Greek boutis, bouttis, vessel in the shape of the frustum of a cone, of unknown origin.]
bottler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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